Article by
Barbados Today

Published on
November 27, 2018

Jason Holder’s leadership qualities and outstanding on-field performances has made him the ideal person to lead West Indies at this critical juncture.

This is the view of former Barbados and West Indies fast bowler Ezra Moseley who believes even though West Indies have faced difficult times of recent, the 27-year-old Barbadian capable of leading the Caribbean side out of their rut.

“I think Jason has the ability to take West Indies’ cricket forward, he just needs to have the right material to work with,” Moseley told Barbados Today.

“Over the last couple of years I have seen him grow as a captain and cricketer. I don’t see any reason why there should be any thoughts of removing him from the post of captain. He was appointed to the position at tender age of 23 and now he is maturing and doing the job so why move him.”

He continued: “Even though the West Indies have not been performing consistently, when I look at Jason tactically, I think he has improved as a captain. I am aware that during the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) this year, questions were raised over the way the way he led the Tridents. In my view, that was a one-off situation.

“I have seen a marked improvement in his overall captaincy during the past year in terms of his knowledge and reading the game. I have heard comments that he is a bit defensive as a leader, but I cannot think of many attacking captains in world cricket at the moment.”

Since his appointment to the post of West Indies one-day captain in 2014 and Test captain one year later, the regional team has performed moderately under his leadership.

Notably, the Windies are yet to win a one-day series under Holder, and were forced to play a qualifying tournament in Zimbabwe earlier this year in order to qualify for the 2019 World Cup.

Moseley, who is the cricket coach at Holder’s alma matter the St Michael School and was one of the player’s first coaches when he was still a teenager, stressed that a captain could only work with the resources that were available to him.

He contended that while the buck stopped with the leader “a captain is only as good as his team.”

Further, Moseley said Holder continued to exhibit the leadership qualities and cricketing ability which made him the ideal captain.

“I expect Holder to lead from the front on and off the field and this year he has done so with the ball and the bat,” said Moseley, who played two Tests and nine One-Day Internationals.

“This year he has dismissed 33 batsmen in 11 Tests at an average of 11.87 which is the best average by a fast bowler in Tests in a calendar year for the last one hundred years.

“Almost every time he comes to the crease, Jason finds himself in a position where he is trying to dig the West Indies out of a hole. As a result, he is forced to shepherd the lower order while trying to rebuild the innings. He always does so in a cool manner even when the team is in dire situation.

“To me, that is leading from the front. Off the field we don’t hear of him being involved in any quarrels or disputes. I think those are signs of good leader.”

Holder averages 30 from 35 Tests with two hundreds and has taken 86 wickets at 28 run apiece.

He has an ODI average of 26 after 85 matches and has snared 112 wickets at an average of 33.